Adjustable seat



Oct. 31, 1933. w 1,933,197

ADJUSTABLE SEAT Filed March 16, 1933 6 Sheets-Sheet l B. N. WALLIS ADJUSTABLE SEAT Oct. 31, 1933.

Filed March 16, 1933 6 Sheets-Sheetr 2 Oct. 31, 1933. w s 1,933,197

' ADJUSTABLE SEAT Filed March 16. 1933 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 0a. 31, 1933. a N, WALLIS 1,933,197

' ADJUSTABLE SEAT Filed March 16. 1953 e Sheefs-Sheet 5 B. N. WALLIS ADJUSTABLE SEAT Filed Marcg, 1651933 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Got. 31, 1933 I 1,533,197.? ADJ-USTABLE SEAT V h Barnes N'eville, Wallis, Weybridg, Surrey, Eng

Westminster, England land,"assigiior toVickers-Arm'strongs Limited,

f mii-ie tionMarch-lanes,s rial No. 661,162,, a I 1 and in Great Britain September 29, 1932 r invention relates toifadjustable seats, particularly. suitable for use iiniaircraft; The in-:

vention will-be described with' reference. to gun mountings foruse in aircraft'to which said seats are especially applicable, but' the invention is also applicable to the pilots seat or to other seats used in aircraft. -.:In .adjustable seats for use on aircraft and particularly aircraftv gun mountings; it is J desirable that the seat isso arranged as to provide al-uniform and easy motion in order to avoid jerks; that it is unafiected'by'schang'es. in position of the aircraft'inspace; that it is compact in formandzcapable in one of its positions of leaving a maximum amount, ofxclear space within the cockpit, and *th'atthe seat s0 mountedonthe bracket andais capable of, trainingadjustment -.within the cockpit as 1170' enable *the gunner to accommodate 'saidseat Ito the :changesrin position of his body when following the movements .ofthe gun as this is being ,trained .on. a .movingftarget. TAlthough these qualities are especially desirable in :gun mountings for aircraft, jtheyrare alsoiadvane. tageousin'seatsl to bexapplied to otheruses. 'Ihe.:.;purposej:oi the present invention is. to achieve these ,desiderata by providingc-a seat which is so mounted. on ,the bracket ..or;sother seat-support that it can-be, easily, quickly and uniformly adjusted by its; occupant while remain ing. seated "and While continuing to;train;.;aim and fire the .;gun,,or whilecarrying out anyjother duties. .-;According to this invention the adjustable seat. comprises the combination of, an arm. pivot 1 ally mounted-att-qne oflits ends on a support invention, the ;meansfor raising the seat and for releasingathe retaining means, much be so positioned that they are operable bythev occu-1 pant at any position1to-which=the iseatmay. be adjusted-if, however, said means are mount-' ed on the bracket, difliculties occur which-have been .overc0me-;by mountingnthe seat,.;according duties.

I l ms-Q Chi m to this invention;- on two' pairs oi arms extend-'- ing -outwardly from the bracket on which-they are pivotally -mounted and connecting said 'arms' at their} outer ends by a linkforming a parallel. linkage mechanism for'carryi ngthe seat-and interposing between one of saidarlns and said link, mechanism for effecting relative-angular adjustment of said arms and link,"'-which.a'cts to 'raise the seat: --This raising-"mechanismalso acts to retain the seat in any adjustedpositiom Furthen'thi's raising mechanismincludes a clutch having a disengaging device by which it can 7 ing'supports and the track for controlling the upper end of the bracket, the gun-carriedby said mountingb'eing' withdrawn into the fuselage, and I the adjustable seat being shown in -a position; suitable for ig. -2 is a cross-section through-the fuselage. illustrating the gun -mounting, {showing "the bracket, lowerbearing supports and the track, the arm carrying the gun onsaid bracket-being carrying out observations ot er shown innne ofitsfiring' positions, in -Whi'chthev gun hasa range'of fire indicated-by the extreme positions of the gun shown in-dotted lines and" chain dotted lines, and the adjustable seat being shown in itslower positionisuitabl'e for aiming,

training and firing the gun between said posi tions. 1

- Fig. 3 is a similar view of =thesam e construetion as that shown inE-FigJ 2 ,but showing the arm carrying the gun zin another of its'ffir-in'g positions, in whic'h thegun has a range-of fireindicatedby the extreme positions of the gun 3 shown in-dotted and chain dotted lines, and the adjustable seat in its higher position" suitable for aiming, training and firing the gun between said positions. I i

Fig; 4is a crossesection through-thebracket on enlarged scale, the mechanism for-firaising] :the'

seat and for retaining-it in any adjusted-posi s tion, and the means for releasingsaid retainin means.

I is also fixed an upstanding pivot a carrying ball bearings a which ball bearings are mounted to run on said annular bearing surface a. The ball bearings support the bifurcated lower ends 0 and c of the bracket 0, which. bracket is thus provided with hearing supports on which the bracketis capable of rotation aboutthe fixed axis of the pivot a and on which the-bracket is also angularly adjustable about the transverse axis of said bearings a so as to permit of the. necessary change ,in the angle of ,the bracket when moving around a non-circular track. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3,-thebracket c-extends upwardly in an inclined position to a point, adjacent the opening in the cockpit where it; is provided with a single bearing support, to be hereinafter described, which engages with the track (1., The track cl is of, channel cross-section having its flanges depending downwardly into the cockpit. I

The bracket 0 is provided at its upper end with a balancing arm carrying at its end the gun.

' applied brake (not shown)" is mounted on the ball bearing 6 for holding the bracket in any 3 comprising opposedcams 0 ,317 having dupli- 'cate camtracksg3, g on thecam 9 and 9 a 'ber glconnecting said arms.

y 9 and g g bearing at diametrically op- The single bearing support at the upper end of the, bracket comprises a bridge piece fixed 35 tothe bracket and extending outwardly at an angle thereto and carrying a ball bearing 6 which fitsclosely within the depending flanges d 12* of the track having a clearance of a few thousandths of an inch suificient to enable this to run smoothly around the track. A selfon the cam g ,,which cam tracks are concentricallyar-ranged around the axis of an inner mem- Duplicate rollers posite but corresponding points on said cam tracks are carried by, pistons g g which are mounted on the feathers 9 so as to slide axially, but without rotation, with-respect to an outer member 9/ fixed'to the bracket, between which pistons springs g"? are arranged which act to press ,said rollers outwardly against the cams fixedto said arms.

The outward pressure of thesprings 9 acts to causethe rollers to tend to move down the cam'tracks g g 9 g which reacts on the cams and causes these to impart to the arms 71. a

torque which, in the construction illustrated, is arranged .to balance a part and preferably the greater part of the weight of the occupant of theseat.- The form. of eachof the cam tracks g g 9 g is designed, .as shown in Fig. 7, with the arms.

a curvature which will cause the torque conveyed to the arms 71.? by the springs g to be proportional to the moment of the load supported by the arms h at any position to which said arms can be adjusted, so as thereby to counterbalance the greater part of the weight of the occupant irrespective of the change in moment of said load due to the angular adjustment of In order to make provision for persons of different weight, the cams 9 g are fixed to the arms by an adjustment device comprising a hand wheel g having a screw g which screws into the sleeve g fixed by the key .9 on each arm, the end 921 of saidscrew bearing against a. bearing piece Q22 fixed'by the-cot- .ters g fto' said cams which are mounted on feathers 9 '(Fig; 8) on said sleeve, so as to be capable of sliding axially, but without rotation, relatively to said sleeve. The cotters fit in slots 9 in the cams and are secured to the cams by the set screws g This adjustment device permits of the axial adjustment 'of the cams g g and thus allows the initial compression of the springsg to be varied. Preferably, as shown, two of such adjustment devices are provided, one for each cam. The sleeves g form part of and are fixed at their inner ends to the inner member 9 while the outer ends of these sleeves serve as a datum point co-operating with graduations-g marked on the screw 5/ to indicate when the required adjustment has been efiected. The arm 71, has fixed on its outer end a quadranti'having teeth 1' meshing with ani'dle pinioni which in turn mesheswith a spur wheel i The idle pinion 2' and spur wheel i are carried on a bracket i and shaft 2 fixed to' the lower end of the seat frame 71. As shown in Fig. 6, the spur wheel i incorp'orates a friction clutch comprising the opposed flanges i i", carrying friction surfaces i 12 one of which flanges i and its frictionsurface are pressed against the spur wheel which'in turn is pressed against the other friction'surface by. the springs i The fiangesi i *-are carried on a hollow shaft 1' to the end of which isfixed a ratchet wheel (Figs. 5 and 6) engaged by a pawl i mounted on a projection 1' of a toe pedal i -mounted on the shaft iiwhichtoepedal, when depressed, turns the ratchet wheeli through a predetermined angle of adjustment, ,said pedal being 'movable from the position shown in fulllines to the position shown in chain dotted lines in Fig.

3 and being returned by a spring 1' While the ratchet wheel is held in its adjusted position by means of a fixed pawl 11 mounted on the bearing i The turning ofthe'ratchet-wheel rotates the spur wheel and idle pinion which reacts on the toothed quadrantz' to cause angular adjustment of the seat frame 71. relatively to the arm A heel pedal 2' isalso mounted on the shaft -i and'is adapted to be actuated bythe same foot as that which actuates the toe pedal, said heel pedalcarrying a pin i which-engages with a surface cam' 1' formed on the end of a sleeve 1' mounted between the shaft i and the driving shaft i This sleeve which is permitted to slide axiallybut is prevented from:rotation on the shaft 2' by means of the cross pin i fixed to said shaft andengaging in the elongated slots i in the sleeve, is connected'by means of studs with the flange 2"v of "the friction clutch, Iso that on-depression of thehe'el pedal 1' the sleeve 1 and flange i are moved axiallyto theright in Fig. 6 against the action-of the springs i to disengage thefriction clutch and $013,110! the spuriwheelyi and idle, pinion iltorotate and thus; permit the seat to; descend under the ,weightofs occupant1 acting against the spring resister. The" studs. i ipass through, elongated slots 2' in the shaft. i so that this shaft and 'the' flange'i are una'fiected by the'axial sliding 'Said toe pedal 2' and heelipedal 1' 9 are adapt edto be operatedby the left foot and on the opposite end of the shaft i -to that carrying the toe pedal 2' and heel pedal 2' a brake pedali is'mounted andadapted to-:be. operated by the 1 right foot for releasing theself-applied' brake that the back rest depends downwardly into the position-shown in Figs. 2 and 3. What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by LettersPatent is:qI I

, An adjustable seatcomprising, in combination, a support for the seat,. a pair of arms pivotally mounted at one of their ends on said support, said arms being adapted by their angular adjustment to permit raising and lowering of the seat, a link connectingthe other ends of saidarms and carrying the seat, a spring resister acting on one of. said armsto apply a torque which gives a uniform counter-balancingeffect to the seat .in all of its positions, means between one of said arms and said link for 'efiecting relative angular adjustment thereof in order to raise .said-seatto and retain it in any adjusted position and ,means for release ing-said retaining means in order to allow the seat to descend under the weight of the occupant acting against the spring resister,

2. An adjustableseat comprising, in combination, a' support for the seat, an arm pivotally mounted at one of its ends on said support and pivotally connected-at-itsotherendto the seat, said arm being adapted by its angular adjustment to permit raising and lowering of theseat a plurality of; members relatively rotatable about a common axis, oneof saidmem- I bers being fixed to said ,armxand the, other being fixed to said support opposed ,cams, rollers bearing on said cams, said cams and rollers be-r ing mounted on means which causes them to rotate relatively to each other on adjustment 7 of the arm but permits one of them to have axial sliding movement relative to the other,

a'spring mounted between the opposed cams and rollers, said spring, rollers and cams acting,

through said members to apply atorque which gives a uniform counter-balancing efi'ect to the seat in all of its positions adapted to balance a part only of the weight of the occupant, means for raising said seat to and retaining it in any adjusted position and means for releasing said retaining means in order to allow the seat to descend'fun'derthe weight of itheoocupantactingoagainst the spring resister,

.32. An 'adjustableiseat comprising, in; combina tion, 2 a support for," the. seat, an arm." pivotally mounted atone of its ends. on saidsupportland' pivotallyconneoted at its other end to the seat; saidarm being-a'daptedby its angular adjustment to permit-raising andlowering of the seat, a plu-' rality of members'relatively rotatable' about a common axis, one of -said-members being-fixed said members and interposed between :said .-pis-v means for releasing said retaining means iniore. .de'reto. allow the seat to descend l.under ;.the weight of the occupant acting against-"the said spring.

= '4. An adjustable seat comprising, in combina tion, a support for the seat, ifafipair'otarms pivotally mounted at one of their ends=onsaid support and pivotally connected at their, other ends to theseat, said arms bein'g'adaptedlby their angular adjustment to permit raisingarand lowering of. the seat a plurality of members relativelyrotatable about a common axispone member .beingfixed to one of said arms randythe other being fixed tosaid-support, .a'springrin' said members, two pistons" disposedgona'at either end of said. spring mounted-t"iornaxial sliding movement, .butwithout rotation,"re1a+.

tive to one of said members, rollers "carriediby I said pistons, opposedcams;carried"bythe other:

member and-forming tracksifor said-rollers,

said cam at one end-:havingfiits high point are ranged in axial alignment with theyhigh 'point of the cam at the'opposite endlandcachcam being formedwith more than one cam trackconcentrically arranged around s'aidlv common axiswith said'rollers arrangedto bear against corresponding. points on each onsaidl tracks,

means .for. raising said seat ato and zretaining fit, in any adjusted position'andmeans for releas-g ing said retainingmeansin order: to, allo withe seat to descend underthe weightofthe pant acting against, the ,sai'dspring, 5. Anadjustable seat comprising, in combination, a support. for 'the seat; an. arm fpivotally said arm being adapted by, its angular. adjustsv ment, to permit 'r'aisinglhandulowering :of the seat, a. spring, cams and cooperating'followers at opposite ends of saidspring, which cams. and followers are, so mounted on. said armandrsaid mounted at one of its ends on'said support and. pivotally connected at its other'endtothe seat,

support respectively as to.be...axiallyTslidable" relative to each other, but vwithout rotation;

relative to the member on whichitis-mountedi I said cams being so curved as to cause the spring to apply atorque to said arm which gives a uniform counter-balancing effect to the seat in all of its positions, means for raising said seat to and retaining it in any adjusted posi-..

tion and means for releasing said retaining means in order tojallow the seat to descend under the weight of the occupantacting against the said torque. M

6; An adjustable seat comprising, in combination, a supportfor'theseat, a pair of armspivotally mountedat one of their-ends on said to said arm and the other being "fixed to \said 3 support, two pistons mounted for axial/sliding. movementfbut withoutirotationy relative .to-orie: w 'oisaid. members, 'a-spring located centrally'iin 'tonsyrollers on saidpistons; cams carried by the. other member forming tracks, on :which "said rollers run',:means for raising-'saidxseat-to and'retaining it in. any adjusted position. and

support, seat carrying means ipivotally connecting the other. ends of said arms, a spring resister actingon one of said arms and-.means between one of said arms andsaid seat, carrying means for effectingrelative angular adjustment thereof in order to adjust the seat.

'7. An adjustable seat comprisingyin combina-:

tion, a support for the seat, a pair of arms pivotally mounted at one of their ends on said support, seat carrying means pivotally connectingthe other ends of said arms, a spring resister acting on one of aid arms and mechanism between one of said arms and said. seat carryingv means for effecting relative angular adjustment thereof in order to adjust the seat, said mechanism including driven and driving gear members, a driving shaft, a clutch between; said driving gear member and said driving-shaft;

a'toelpedal for actuating said driving s'haft'and means for causing said pedal to drive the shaft when moved in one direction but to move relaa tive tosaidaishaft when moved in an opposite direction. 7

8,. Anv adjustable seat comprising, in combination; a support for the seat, a pair of arms pivshaft when moved in onedirection but to" move relative to said shaft in the opposite direction,"

a fixed pawl engagingv said ratchet wheel for holding said shaft in any adjusted position and a clutch releasing pedal adapted to release the clutch in order to permit said driving member to rotatefreely on saidshaft; I

-9'.- An adjustable seat comprising, in combi nation, a support for the seat, a pair of arms pivotally mountedat one of their ends on said support and pivotally connected at their other ends to the seat said arms being adapted by their angular adjustment to permit raising and lowering of the seat, two membersrelatively ro-, tatable about a common axis, one being fixed to'said supportand the other to said'arm, two sets, of barrel cams mounted'for axial sliding movement, but Without rotation, relative to one of said members, cooperating followers mounted for axial sliding movement, but without rotation,'re1ative to the other of .said' members, a spring interposed between said setsyof barrel cams and followers, means for axially adjusting the two sets of barrel cams rclativeto each other and means for retaining the seat. in any adjusted position.

5 .10.. An adjustable seat comprising'in combination, a support for the seat, anarm pivotally mounted at oneof its ends on said support and pivotally connected .at its other end tpthe seat, said arm being adapted by its angular adjustment .to permit'raising and lowering of the seat, a plurality of membersrelatively rotatable about a common axis, one being fixed.

to said support and the 'otherto said arm, a spring located centrally in i'said members, two pistons mounted for axial sliding movement, but without rotation, relative to one of said members,- rollers carried onsaid pistons, cams acting on said rollers" and axially adjustable, but without rotatiomrelative tothe other of said members, means for axially adjusting said cams and means for adjusting said seat to and'retaining it in any adjusted position. i 1 lljAnadjustable seat comprising, in combination, a support for the seat, an arm pivotally mounted 'at one of its ends on said support and pivotally connected at its other end to the seat, said arm being' adapted by its angular adjustment to permit raising and lowering of the seat, two members relatively rotatable about a caimrnon'axis, one being fixed to said arm and,

the other to said support, a spring in said-membersftwopistons one at either side of said spring mounted for axial sliding movement, but without rotation, relative to one'of said members, rollers carried onsaid pistons,tw0 cams acting on said rollers mountedforaxial slid'-.--

ing movement but without rotation relative to the other of said members'two adjusting 'de I vices for axially adjustingsaid cams and means for-adjusting saidseat to and retaining it in any adjusted position.

12. The combination of a gun mounting bracket a pair of arms pivotallymounted at oneof their ends on said bracket a seat carrying mem ber pivotally interconnecting the other ends of said arms, a seat on said carrying member inner and outer barrel members mounted coaxially with each other and with the pivot at the end of one of said arms, one barrel member being fixed to the arm and the other being fixed to the bracket, opposed cams axially slidable'but non-rotatable relative 'tothe inner barrel member, rollers adapted to runon said cams, pistons carrying said rollers and'axially slidable,'- but non-rotatable,-relative to the outer barrel member, springs between said pistons, means for axially adjusting each of said cams, a shaftto'n the seat carrying member, gearing between said shaft and the end of one arm pivoted to the seat carrying-member, pedal actuated means for driving said shaft and gearing in order to raise the seat, said pedal actuated means preventing reversal of said "drive, a clutchinsaid gearing and means for releasing saidclutch to permit loweringof the seat. I

BARNES NEVILLE WALLIS. l 

